FG has returned fuel subsidy, won’t admit it — Kenneth Okonkwo

Lawyer and actor Kenneth Okonkwo has accused Taiwo Oyedele of misleading Nigerians over the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount, alleging that the Tinubu administration has effectively reintroduced fuel subsidy while refusing to acknowledge it.

Okonkwo made the allegation during an appearance on Channels Television, where he challenged the government’s insistence that the temporary reduction in petrol prices was a discount rather than a subsidy.

“Sorry to say this, Taiwo Oyedele lied when he said it was not subsidy. It was subsidy,” Okonkwo declared.

He argued that the government’s decision to reduce petrol prices from about N1,500 to N1,350 per litre amounted to a subsidy because the intervention was intended to ease the financial burden on Nigerians.

“What were they trying to do? They were trying to reduce cost. They acknowledged by themselves that the cost was becoming unbearable for the people and they have to intervene to give relief for the people,” he said.

Okonkwo maintained that the measure met the definition of a subsidy, describing it as financial assistance intended to reduce costs or achieve economic and social objectives.

“And they say it’s not subsidy. Then the whole idea of subsidy has to be redefined. Because what he did is exactly the definition of subsidy,” he added.

The lawyer alleged that the administration was reluctant to describe the intervention as a subsidy because it had repeatedly ruled out restoring the petrol subsidy.

He also referred to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s position that the government should introduce measures to ease the hardship facing Nigerians, regardless of what such measures were called.

Mocking the government’s handling of the policy, Okonkwo compared its approach to a student copying another person’s answers during an examination.

“In the examination hall, when you are copying the answer of your fellow classmate, you will always copy even the words you should not copy,” he said.

Kenneth Okonkwo’s allegation adds to the controversy over the government’s temporary petrol price intervention and whether it represents a return to fuel subsidy or a separate relief measure.

The Federal Government has maintained that the discount does not amount to the return of fuel subsidy, a position Okonkwo disputes.